44 teams converge for Slam Fest Softball Tournament

If it’s a high school softball fix you’re looking for, then Palmetto Bay Park (17595 SW 95th Ave.) will be the place to be for the next three days.

Starting Thursday afternoon and concluding Saturday evening, 44 teams from around the state — including 26 from Miami-Dade and Broward counties — will converge on Palmetto Bay for the 25th Annual Pinecrest Physical Therapy Slam Fest Softball Tournament.

Unless Mother Nature gets in the way, 86 games are scheduled on the park’s six fields, including 43 on Saturday. Six teams who advanced to the state final four last season are playing. That includes defending state champions Plantation American Heritage (6A) and St. Pete Admiral Farragut (3A).

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Longtime Gulliver Prep. head coach Mark Schusterman has taken on the task of putting the tournament together since the tournament’s inception 24 years ago.

“Without a doubt it’s one of the things I’m probably most proud of,” said Schusterman, which is saying a lot coming from someone who has led his team to six state championships including four in a row from 2010 to 2013. “This tournament has become the largest tournament of its kind in Florida and maybe the entire southeast part of the country.”